Even if you don’t know him by name, you probably know a couple of Terry Anderson’s tunes. The Georgia Satellites and Hindu Love Gods recorded his song “Battleship Chains”, and Satellites frontman Dan Baird scored his first solo hit with another Anderson song, “I Love You Period”. Anderson also writes, sings and drums for the Yayhoos, the on-but-mostly-off-again group that includes Baird, Eric Ambel and Keith Christopher. Now that you’ve been formally introduced, you can get to know Anderson a little better here on his third, and best, solo disc.
Anderson’s strong suit is clever wordplay and slice-of-life stories with a “Yeah, I know somebody that happened to” appeal. He’s got a penchant for upbeat arrangements, and he likes choppy, open-tuning rhythm guitars that recall Keith Richards’ style of playing.
Highlights include the rockers “$ Of An Education”, “Mr. Busdriverman” and “37 Miles In Reverse”, which updates the classic Bo Diddley beat. The humorous but poignant “Safety First” would fit right in on any NRBQ record. In fact, ex-Q guitarist Al Anderson, a frequent writing partner during Terry’s Nashville days (and no relation that either will admit to), chips in with a few co-writes, some trademark guitar solos, and background vocals.
